


bitter, but its fruit is sweet

by readythefanons



Series: FE3H A/B/O fic collection [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Enthusiastic Consent, F/M, First Time, Getting Together, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:21:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27768964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readythefanons/pseuds/readythefanons
Summary: Lorenz's first heat finds him before he is ready.
Relationships: Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/Leonie Pinelli
Series: FE3H A/B/O fic collection [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2120154
Comments: 12
Kudos: 32





	1. ready, set, no

**Author's Note:**

> A/b/o: Brief mention of consent issues when people are in heat/rut but not depicted  
> omegas have vaginas and clits and experience heats, alphas have penises and no vaginas and experience ruts, and betas have vaginas and penises and experience neither? I dunno man :|  
> This was going to be a fill for the kinkmeme, but then it turned into, uh, this so. Here we are!

Lecture was finishing up when the proverbial dawn finally broke. 

Lorenz had been feeling off all morning, distracted and, and—distracted. Professor Eisner had invited one of the knights to give a special lecture, but Lorenz just couldn’t concentrate. First it was the temperature of the room (too hot, why was it so stuffy today), and the classroom seating (Lorenz just couldn’t find a comfortable way to sit), and then it was _Claude,_ again, with his stupid comments and absurd suggestions and long, elegant fingers and eye catching little braid, and there was Hilda, curling her hair around one finger, blinking at the speaker at the front of the room, and the way Marianne took notes, toying absently with the end of her quill, soft mouth pursed slightly as she concentrated on the speaker’s words and—oh, oh. Those were—the three alphas in the Golden Deer house. This—Lorenz was suddenly, vividly aware of all the places his clothes laid across his skin and all the areas was exposed, to say nothing of the, the slick heat between his legs— Goddess, he was so—he wasn’t _ready—_

Lorenz kept his eyes trained on his notes, tried to think of, of anything else. If he panicked, it would—his scent would spike, and that would draw _attention—_ They would _know—_

Marianne, who was sitting in the same row, turned. Lorenz wasn’t looking in her direction, wasn’t looking at anyone, but he was aware of all the alphas in the room. Her eyes on him were like a caress. He couldn’t help imagining the feel of her hands, her breath on his skin. _Oh,_ he was so—he felt— He resisted the urge to hunch his shoulders, kept his breathing as steady as he could make it. His cheeks were burning, his eyes were burning, his blood was hot and too fast in his veins—

Leonie, sitting in the seat next to him, leaned her elbow on the desk, propped her jaw on a loose fist. Lorenz could _feel_ it when Marianne’s attention shifted away from him to his neighbor. It was like stepping into the shade of a tree on a hot day. He let his eyes close, breathed. Leonie seemed to be doing, he didn’t know, Leonie things. She was always doing Leonie things, making faces at Raphael, passing notes, something.

She kept doing Leonie things, even when Hilda turned around, looked straight at Lorenz. He had his eyes open at the time, got caught in her gaze, saw her glossy mouth go slack for just a moment. _Oh,_ he was—his body—Hilda was so very lovely, soft and curvaceous, but terrifically strong, and he—he was hot all over, he, he was _wet_ —and then Leonie did some other Leonie thing. Lorenz wasn’t sure but he thought she threw a tiny wad of paper at the alpha. In a daze, he watched his friend make a face at Hilda, widening her eyes and raising her brows, expectant, watched Hilda open the note, read it, go pink, turn back around. Well that was odd? Probably? He wasn’t sure. He could hardly think.

Lecture ended _finally_ and Lorenz was stuck. He—he couldn’t—he was a little worried he’d, um, soaked through— His cheeks burned with shame at the thought of, of getting caught, and he blinked until the hot, prickly feeling of his eyes receded—

“Lorenz,” Leonie said, very softly. He twitched, blinked back to reality, back to the classroom—it was empty, save for the two of them. “Lorenz, hey, you, um, you with me?” Lorenz nodded. Where was everyone…? “Great, good, um. Lysithea has gone for Professor Manuela, okay, so she’s gone for help. Claude, Hilda, and Marianne got shooed away, but I’m sure they’re just outside the door. Raphael went for food, which I guess is what Raphael does when he doesn’t know how else to help, and Ignatz went with him. Okay? Do you, um, do you know what’s happening here?”

“It’s—I’m going into heat,” Lorenz whispered. He was—of age, and an omega, and he really should have expected it, but he thought, hoped, he wasn’t going to start this year, and he, he— he wasn’t _ready—_

“Whoa, breathe, breathe, Lor,” Leonie said. She was— sitting on the far end of the bench, body turned towards him. Lorenz tried to breathe. “Okay, um, can you give me your hands? Please?” Leonie said ‘thank you,’ but she rarely said ‘please.’ Lorenz gave her his hands, felt something in him _settle_ at the contact. He nearly flinched away. “It’s just me, Lorenz, it’s just Leonie. I’m your friend, we’re all friends here, okay?” Her hands were warm and calloused. His own felt frail in comparison. She stroked his knuckles with the pad of her thumb. “Lysithea has gone for help. She’ll bring Manuela, and Manuela will bring medicine, okay?”

“I don’t like this,” he made himself admit. He wasn’t a coward, but Goddess help him, he wasn’t _ready—_ Leonie squeezed both his hands, warm, bracing.

“Yeah, that’s—pretty normal, Lorenz,” Leonie said sadly.

“I don’t want—I thought I had more time.” To find someone, a spouse, a mate. “I wanted—I don’t want—Leonie, I don’t want some, some—I’m not _ready—_ ” He didn’t want to be mounted by some alpha, not a stranger or, or a classmate, not just because of, of hormones. Even if Lorenz didn’t expect to be married at this point, he still hoped—it wouldn’t be so bad, if it was his betrothed. If they were in love, already, and there was some choice there instead of, of the impersonal, uncaring demands of biology—

“Lorenz, Lorenz, hey,” Leonie said, and her hands were so warm and the rest of Lorenz was _hot_ , his blood was hot, his face was hot, and he felt cold and scared and— “Lorenz, buddy, stay with me. Lysithea has gone for Manuela. Manuela will bring medicine. The others are guarding the door. The medicine will stop your heat, okay? It’ll stop your heat, and, and—whatever you’re imagining, it’s not going to happen. Okay, Lorenz?”

“I’m not ready. I don’t want this,” Lorenz said thinly. Leonie squeezed his hands. 

“Can I—can I hug you?” she asked helplessly. “I’m, I won’t touch anywhere but your back and sides, and maybe your shoulders and head. If you—” Lorenz nodded. She muttered something like _thank you_ , slid along the bench until they were close close close. She put her arms around him, and Lorenz—moaned, humiliatingly. It wasn’t, strictly speaking, an aroused sound, but it was sexual, a sound of relief, and his cheeks burned and his eyes and throat burned, and, and—she tucked him against her body, let him press his face against the side of her head. 

Her beta scent was nice, simple, soft and clean. Beta scents didn’t make anyone’s heart race, but Lorenz’s heart was racing enough on its own. He wrapped his arms around her, buried his face against her neck where that clean-soft-safe scent was the strongest. He breathed, and breathed, and felt a little less like he was going to hyperventilate. “I’ve got you. You’re safe, Lorenz. We’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

“I wanted,” he tried to explain. “With someone I love—”

“Lorenz,” Leonie interrupted, voice firm. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Of course you want that. But you’re not going to have your first time today, okay, because you’re not ready. So we’re going to stop your heat, okay, and then you’ll start the moon tea, and you’ll have all the time you need. Okay?”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“It works, Lorenz. It’ll work.”

“What if it _doesn’t?_ ” He didn’t want—heat made omegas vulnerable, made it hard to think (it was already hard to think), made them say yes when they might otherwise say no—

“It will, Lorenz. It’ll work,” Leonie promised. Lorenz whined, aware in his rational mind that _yes, of course it would work_ , but his animal brain was scared, so scared, and, and sick with wanting—despite the fear, he was still so wet, his body was aching and empty—

“This is terrible,” he said. He was so wet, and he was so sensitive he, he felt little crackles of desire every time he moved—Leonie gave him a little squeeze.

“You’re damn right,” she said. “It’s the pits. But you’re going to be okay, alright?” Lorenz nodded, pressed closer to her.

“Okay,” he said, and tried to believe her. “You’ll help me?” 

“Yes, and all our friends too,” Leonie promised promptly. Lorenz flinched. His animal brain presented him with an impression of himself, spread obscenely while the others were arrayed around him, one of them mounting him. He, he didn’t—Claude and Hilda and Marianne were _alphas,_ they were fine, but they had—what if they—he didn’t— 

“Not like that, I don’t want it like that,” Lorenz tried to say. He didn’t want them to, to drive the heat out of him, he wanted her to help him—

“I will personally fight anyone who tries to lay a hand on you,” Leonie said calmly. “If that’s what you want.”

“Yes,” he sighed, felt—still felt out of control, like maybe he’d die if no one touched him soon, but he also felt, oh, he didn’t know—comforted, almost. Leonie was—she was a good fighter. He tried to press closer to her. “Don’t let them—I don’t want it, Leonie, okay, I don’t—if it has to happen, I don’t want—” 

“You’re going to be fine, Lor, no one’s going to touch you,” Leonie said, hugging him still. Lorenz—his hips were rocking, a little, he didn’t mean to be doing that, but it, it felt good, it was too hard to stop—

“If, if it has to be someone,” he panted. He was so wet, and he wanted to be touched so badly, and if had to be someone, it might as well be Leonie.

“No one’s going to touch you,” Leonie promised. “You’re safe.” Lorenz whined. He could—he could climb in her lap, right now, sink onto her. She could fill him, and she’d be, be good to him. Alphas turned his head and made him wet, but she’d go slow when he needed it and, and take him hard and fast when he asked, and— Goddess, what was he thinking.

“I hate this,” Lorenz said. “I hate it so much.” 

“I know, I’m sorry, Lor,” Leonie whispered. Her hand was on the back of his head, and she smelled safe and warm. “But you’re going to be okay, alright? You’re going to be fine.”

“I’m so—” Slick. Ready. Ashamed. He squirmed, couldn’t help the way pleasure shivered up his spine. “ _Leonie._ ”

“Yeah,” Leonie said gently. “Yeah, you’re really—it’s only this bad because of how healthy you are, though.” Lorenz made a noise. “First heats are—they’re not fun, but yours is like this because your body is strong and healthy. And it means you’ll recover faster.”

“I _am_ a noble of the highest degree,” Lorenz said weakly. Leonie huffed a breath, and it was so familiar and fond it made him ache. 

“That you are,” Leonie said, teasing him so gently it made him—want her. If, if he had to have a heat, and he needed a heat partner, he could do a lot worse, and she was safe and warm and she promised she’d take care of him— 

There was a knock at the door. Lorenz had the urge to hide. Leonie tucked him against herself more firmly.

“Who is it?” Leonie called. 

“Manuela. May I come in?”

“Can she?” Leonie asked. Lorenz whined. He didn’t want Manuela, he didn’t want her to— “She has the medicine for you.”

“Fine,” he panted, overruling his animal brain. Goddess, but it was hard to think in a straight line. 

“Come in,” Leonie called. The door opened, and the urge to hide intensified. Professor Manuela was a beta, like Leonie, but she was, she smelled different, all perfume and sugar, not as good— “Hi.” 

“Hello,” Professor Manuela said. She walked slowly into the room, moving carefully. She set two stoppered bottles on the table. “Lorenz, can you hear me?” He nodded, eyes shut. “Good. Did you tell him about the potions yet?”

“No, you’re the healer,” Leonie said. She was running a hand up and down his back in long strokes. It was—nice. Lorenz breathed in her nice scent. 

“Okay. Lorenz, honey, I have two potions here. You can pick either one. The twilight potion,” Manuela picked up the larger bottle, which had a clear purple liquid in it, “Will stop your heat. The midnight potion,” she indicated the smaller bottle, which contained an opaque liquid so dark it was almost black, “Will stop your heat and make you sleep.”

“Why?” he made himself ask. Professor Manuela was lovely, but she was—too close, and he didn’t want— Leonie petted the back of his head.

“Stopping a heat once it’s begun is hard on the body, Lorenz,” the professor said soberly. “It won’t feel good. You’ll have cramps, and there may be a low fever and headache as well. The rapid changes can also cause heightened emotional distress. The effects usually last from eight to twelve hours, but can go for as long as a day and a half. The twilight potion leaves you awake for all that, but you’re aware of your surroundings too. If you take the midnight potion, you’ll sleep through the worst of it, but you won’t be aware of what’s happening around you.” Lorenz hugged Leonie and made a _help_ noise.

“Is there one you’d recommend?” Leonie asked. She didn’t sound worried. Lorenz breathed carefully.

“The twilight potion, in all but the most severe cases,” the professor said, tapping the larger bottle. “It’s more unpleasant in the short term, but it’s easier on the body.”

“What do you think, Lorenz, do you think you can handle it?” Leonie asked. _Strong and healthy,_ he thought. “Cramps, headache, fever, but no heat. We’ll snug you up in your room with water and snacks.”

“Stay with me?” Lorenz asked. 

“Of course,” Leonie said, at the same time Professor Manuela said, “I’ll talk to your professor for you.” Lorenz nodded. 

He took the twilight potion. Leonie and the others helped him to his room. Well, that was the plan. Leonie stuck with Lorenz, tucked under his arm and glued to his side, and the others fanned out to keep them from encountering any other people. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, though, Lorenz balked and forced the whole party to wheel around so he could camp out in Leonie’s room instead. If he’d been in his right mind, he’d have expected commentary on that, but no one said anything. Raphael and Ignatz had indeed brought snacks, so that was taken care of. Claude offered to break into Lorenz’s room to retrieve his tea set, which Lorenz declined.

Being in another person’s bed—well, it made his animal brain want to spread his legs. Even his rational brain couldn’t escape the fact that, well, this was Leonie’s bed and smelled very much like her. Clean and warm and soft, and he couldn’t totally resist the urge to bury himself in her bedclothes and, coincidentally, her beta scent. She sat on the bed next to him and scratched his head. That was nice. She got up and poured him a glass of water, made him sit up to drink it. He wasn’t sold on the whole ‘sitting up’ business, but the water was _good._ He drank the whole thing, and another glass too.

“Have you done this before?” he asked, passing her the empty glass.

“No, betas don’t have heats,” Leonie said patiently. He leaned against the wall with his knees tucked up. She sat next to him after putting the glass down.

“No, _this,_ ” Lorenz said, waving one hand at the room in general. “Someone else’s heat.”

“Yeah, back home. And here, too,” she said. “Here’s nicer because there’s a fully stocked infirmary. Back home it was more about helping them wait until their partner could be found.” Lorenz scooted towards her until their arms were touching. She looped an arm around his shoulders, and he sighed and leaned into her. 

“What about rut?” Lorenz asked, and blushed.

“Been there for those too,” Leonie said easily. “It’s about the same, honestly.”

The discomfort Professor Manuela warned him about started not long after that. It was truly miserable, his guts cramping and cramping and cramping. Leonie stayed with him, talking to him to take his mind off it, coaxing him into eating a little, or making him drink more water. He fell asleep, eventually, curled up on his side with her body a line of warm comfort pressed along his back and her arms looped around his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was weirdly nervous to start posting this, but it's happening! AAAH!


	2. self-love

Lorenz’s only ‘full’ heat was that first one. He started drinking moon tea the very next day, and it did its job of suppressing his cycles. His mini-heats were much less severe. Instead of getting wet, wet, wet, enough to soak through his clothes, he just got slick. Instead of feeling like he was about to lose his mind, he just felt restless and distracted. And instead of—needing to rely on someone else, he learned to companion himself. He was still waiting for the right one—an alpha, preferably a girl, with the right lineage and the right personality, who made him feel, oh, bright and protected—and in the meantime, well, he learned to take care of himself.

The first time Lorenz fingered himself, he felt hot and ashamed and embarrassed and so, so slick and, and _good_ —and some quiet voice in his brain whispered, _it’s okay, you’re good, it’s healthy, this is normal, it’s fine,_ and he shut his eyes and, and pressed his fingers deeper into himself, ground the palm of his hand against his clit, came shaking and relieved and—not as furious with himself as he felt he should be. Instead, he felt better, he felt _good_ — Oh. _Yeah, you’re good, you’re fine, you’re good,_ the same voice whispered, and he—did it again, and again, until he was spent and too tired to be shaking and just felt—tired and good. He hugged his pillow and drifted into sleep, woke the next day feeling chipper and ready to tackle the grain inventory he’d been putting off. 

Lorenz, ah, got better at, well, getting himself off with his fingers. He never stopped, um, talking to himself in his head when he did it, imagining all kinds of—things being said to him, mostly, um, comforting things, meaningless and generic (meaningless, right), but sometimes—dirty things, encouragements, sometimes even endearments. _Oh,_ yes _, sweetheart, do you like that? Want it deeper, is that how you want it? What’s the matter, Lor, my fingers aren’t enough any more?_

After his, oh, third mini-heat, he steeled himself and obtained—a marital aid (more like premarital aid, aha). It was a garish shade of orange, but it was moderately sized and well-made, and, and he just thought, well maybe—he was still waiting to meet the right person, after all, and in the meantime, well—

_You’re so slick, sweetheart, have you been like this all day? Been wanting this all day, getting all wet for me, so filthy,_ Lorenz laid on his bed, teased himself with the—the phallus, let the tip slide gently against his slick folds. He whined, pressed it in just barely, _Sweetheart, you feel so good,_ he imagined the voice sighing, heartfelt and fond, _So perfect, so good for me._ Then, with wicked amusement, _Or is this not for me at all? I know you like looking at that alpha on the trade council, the one with the blue eyes. Were you looking at him or thinking about me, hm?_ You, just you—he whined softly, slid the length of the thing into himself, _oh_. His back arched. Oh, his body took it so greedily, so easily, _Prove it, sweetheart, show me—_ He rolled over in the bed, pushed himself up on shaking limbs. Oh, oh Goddess, he— he held the phallus upright, lowered himself onto it. _Oh_ , Goddess, that was—he covered his mouth with his hand, fucked himself on the thing, couldn’t stop imagining hands on himself, on his back, in his hair, a voice in his ear—

So that was another heat taken care of. He drank some water, washed the thing, washed himself, and curled around a pillow as he drifted into deep and restful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one's short, but that's okay. A transition chapter!


	3. reunion

And then, somehow, five years had passed, and Lorenz made his way to Garreg Mach. Professor Eisner was there, unchanged by the intervening years. All the Golden Deer had found their way back, and despite the seriousness of the situation, Lorenz felt buoyant to see them all. And—oh, there was Leonie, the back of her head at least. He’d recognize that shade of orange anywhere.

“Hello,” he said to the back of her head, and she spun, and smiled, and oh—

“Lorenz!” she exclaimed. She was beaming, and her hair was shorter than when they were in school, cropped short on the sides and left longer on top, and there were freckles on her cheeks and freckles on the bridge of her nose, and—she reached a hand out to him, and he was already moving, wrapping himself around her, and—“Oof, hey there,” she wheezed, and patted his pauldron. Oh, gracious, Lorenz was in _armor,_ what was he thinking—he tried to get off her, but she looped an arm around him and gently ground her knuckles against his scalp. Ow. “Where do you think you’re going. Come on, Lor, you can’t just hug me and run away,” she was saying, and he could _hear_ her smiling, and, oh, it was so good to be back with his friends. She let go of him, and he straightened, and, oh, it was good to see her again. “Love this, it looks great,” she said, tugging the ends of his hair. 

“Yours too,” he said, blushing. She looked so, so fierce and wild.

“Wait, is the first time you’re seeing each other since graduation?” Claude interjected. Claude. He was still here, yes. “I thought you lived in Gloucester?”

“What part of traveling mercenary don’t you remember?” Leonie asked at the same time Lorenz said, “Gloucester County has the greatest area in the Alliance—”

“Alright, alright,” Claude said, waving his hands at them. “Whatever. Everyone gets first dibs on their old rooms, otherwise you can take any room no one else is using. Settle in, meet back in the dining hall at noon. Got it?” 

“He’s so serious,” Leonie said, smiling at Lorenz. Claude made an offended noise. “Is he always like this?”

“Not nearly often enough,” Lorenz told her.

“Excuse me! First of all, rude, I am not serious,” Claude said. “Second of all, rude, I’m exactly as serious as I should be.” Leonie laughed. Lorenz—watched her. She was so animated.

And he kept watching her, all through helping her settle into her old room, all through lunch, all through the strategy meeting in the afternoon and the days and weeks that followed, and—oh, hm. Oh, dear. It seemed that, just possibly, Lorenz was—that is, he suspected that he, ah, was somewhat infatuated with his friend. Oh, dear.

It was just that she was—she was his friend, and they went to school together, and he was already—warmly inclined towards the person she’d been in the Academy, but the last five years had—distilled her, somehow. Admittedly, her manners had somehow become _more_ rough in the last five years, but somehow he found it didn’t matter. She’d already had a valuable perspective as a commoner, but her travels had given her a unique insight on the situation in Fodlan. She was already pretty in a boyish kind of way, but now she was—striking. She moved with easy authority, she smiled often and broadly, her voice was calm and confident. It was—it was a lot. Lorenz may or may not have written a poem wherein _the speaker_ mused upon the ways in which an unspecified subject’s smile could be as warm and life-affirming as the sun’s rays. It was juvenile stuff, yet he couldn’t seem to get it out of his head until it was on the page. He was doomed.

Oh, and then his heat came, which was not a crisis because Lorenz had a calendar and could count. He notified the necessary parties of his upcoming, ah, unavailability, and arrangements were made to account for his expected absence. He secluded himself in his room, pulled out his—(pre)marital aid, and blushed to the roots of his hair because. Well. For a lot of reasons, not the least of which was the color of the, ah, object and the fact that he had really, truly, never connected that particular color to another shade of orange he was quite fond of, and—well. This was foolishness, and he was blushing. 

And then he, he got on with things, and it finally occurred to him that in his entire life, only one person had ever called him _Lor_ , and he’d been calling himself that in his head since as long as he’d been having heats, and oh, Goddess. It was possible that Lorenz’s self-observation skills might occasionally be lacking. Hm. 

And then it was done, and Lorenz was tired and sated. He cleaned himself up, got some sleep, and rose the next day feeling quite at peace with himself and the world. He was also famished. 

Leonie was in the dining hall, and he didn’t wait for her to wave him over before he was walking towards her with his food. He was halfway over before he remembered to be embarrassed, but embarrassed he certainly became. He was fully red the face by the time he reached her, but that was suddenly secondary because _she_ was blushing. Lorenz stared.

“Hey,” she said. “Good to see you. Uh, we missed you.” Her cheeks her pink, and her head was just barely ducked, but she was still looking at him, and she was smiling softly.

“I missed you too,” Lorenz said, and hm. That was technically true but possibly too honest. Leonie blushed harder, and Lorenz had to resist the urge to lunge across the table and cup her face in his hands to behold it. 

Thereafter, Lorenz was aware of not just the comfortable silences between them, but charged ones too. There were moments when—he was looking at her, and she was looking at him, and they were both waiting—Lorenz hoarded those moments, collected them and tucked them away in his chest, brought them out to behold them, see if they fit together into something more—

The silences and the looks were sweet, and her company was wonderful, but Lorenz—well, he normally didn’t, ah, touch himself much between heats, but he, okay, he was breaking with tradition. He was breaking with tradition in a big way. It was almost embarrassing. (Except that, the first time that old, familiar shame tried to rise up in him, he remembered the way she bumped their elbows together when they were next to each other. He had grown so, so familiar with that raised-brow _you okay?_ look, and, actually, perhaps, Lorenz was okay, thank you.) 

Somehow they made it almost all the way through the campaign just—circling each other, watching and waiting. It wasn’t until just before the final battle (“For real this time,” Claude had said, and they’d laughed tiredly but _hoped_ ) that Lorenz screwed his courage up and, and—used his words to express his emotions. 

He slipped a poem under her door and ran away. She practically broke his door down a few minutes later.

“Do you mean it?” she demanded, pink-cheeked and wild-eyed, clutching the paper so hard it was probably creasing. Lorenz nodded, speechless. She strode across the room, was in his space in just a few steps, glaring up at him. “I’m a commoner. And a beta.”

“There is no one else I would rather share my life with,” Lorenz said. “We can—worry about the details later, surely? If, if the love is there.” 

Leonie sighed, which seemed like a bad sign, and pulled him down for a kiss, which surely had to be a good one. Her mouth was soft and her grip was strong and she smelled so nice—

And then she was leaning back, putting just enough space between their mouths to say, “It’s not ‘if,’ Lor, honestly—” and she kissed him again. That accomplished, she added, “You’re normally a more meticulous planner than this.”

“Thank you?” Lorenz said, dazed. He kissed her again, and she let him. Her hands were around his back, and his arms were around her, and he was so light he felt barely tethered to the earth. 

“Really, though, ‘try it and figure out the details later’ is more of a me-plan than a you-plan,” Leonie said eventually. They had moved to the bed where they were laying on their sides, face to face. Lorenz smiled and dared to run his fingers through the soft crest of her hair.

“A Leonie-plan for a Leonie-goal,” he suggested, and she grinned and kissed him, pressing him against the bed this time, and, oh, that was nice. It was so nice, and he was—warm and unutterably happy, and his blood was singing in his veins and he was, oh, getting wet, and he shifted and felt the hard line of her cock, and—“Bed me?” The words came out shy, but he wanted—

She kissed him, thoroughly, pressing their bodies together in the most delightful of ways, and then pushed herself up so she was leaning over him and they weren’t touching at all.

“I would love to,” she said. “Because I love you, and you like me back, apparently, but I do feel obligated to, uh, check in with you first.”

“Fine,” Lorenz sighed, and looped his arms around her shoulders. 

“Are you in heat, or about to go into heat?”

“What? No,” he wasn’t due for months. 

“Okay,” she kissed the corner of his mouth, nuzzled at his cheek. Lorenz shivered pleasantly. “Would you still want to—to be with me even if we weren’t about to set off on another ‘we might all die’ mission tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Lorenz said, and tugged at her until she came close enough to hug again. He didn’t love the reminder of their mortality, but, well, it was true. “But I confess to letting it affect the, ah, timing of my, my actions.” They were laying chest-to-chest, but for a moment the gulf of what might happen seemed to separate them. He tightened his arms around her, let her set her head against the crook of his neck.

“I love you,” she said soberly.

“I love you,” he said. For a moment he felt—young and mortal and scared, like nothing more than a collection of vulnerabilities, a heart waiting to be torn apart, but—he breathed, and he felt her breathing, and he let the moment pass through him. “I have been thinking of you quite, ah, fondly for a considerable time.” He was a little scared she’d ask what ‘a considerable time’ meant and a little disappointed when she didn’t. She kissed his cheek, though. It was hard to maintain any sense of disappointment when she did that. 

“Last question, I think. Have you ever had sex before?”

“No,” Lorenz said. “Is that a problem?”

“Of course not. Nothing about you is a problem,” She kissed the corner of his mouth. “I have. Is that a problem for you?”

“No,” Lorenz said. She looked at him, terribly serious, and he tried to think of the words—“It isn’t, Leonie. I, I care for you, and I just—as long as you care for me, it doesn’t—the rest doesn’t matter. Leonie.” He was tilting his face up for her, and she kissed him. Oh, yes please. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him until he was breathless and unspeakably aroused, and the she tilted their foreheads together.

“We are wearing too many clothes,” she said, and— _there_ was an idea, yes, please, now.

“You are a genius,” he said fervently, shedding his clothing. Leonie—made a fond, amused noise, paused in taking off her shirt, and that was just—criminal. He finished baring himself, forgetting even to be nervous, and helped her finish undressing in the form of putting his hands all over her body and generally getting in her way. Her forearms were littered with scars, which became fewer but more dire on her torso. He wanted to—to kiss each one, to thank it for being the kind that _healed_ , but first he had to kiss her breasts, her belly, the soft skin at the hollow of her neck. Her wonderful clean-soft-safe smell collected there, and he lost a little time kissing and nosing against her neck. 

“Mm, let me touch you, too,” Leonie said at length, sounding pleasantly dazed, and Lorenz laid back and allowed her to—to touch him. The skin of her hands was rough from work, but her touch was as gentle as he could have wished. He was panting and slick when she started, and he was positively molten by the time she had kissed her way down his torso. 

“Please, I’m ready, I’m so ready,” he panted, spreading his knees for her. He wasn’t as wet as he’d been that, that very first heat, but he _was_ wet. She kissed the inside of his knee, which was sweet but also an unforgivable tease, and he whined. “Please, Leonie, I’m ready, now.” 

“I love you,” she said, and pressed her fingers into him. He groaned in relief, legs spreading wider. Goddess—yes, he’d been wanting— He was panting, moaning, saying who-knew-what, and she was leaning over him, kissing his face. “So good, so perfect, you’re doing so well, love,” she murmured sweetly, and Lorenz clung to her. She moved her fingers, and it wasn’t, wasn’t quite right—

“Deeper,” he begged. “More, ah, higher? For-forward?” It was hard to describe what he meant, and also he was severely distracted, but she was so close but not quite there—

“Good, Lor, perfect, I love it,” Leonie groaned, warm and low. “Tell me exactly how you want it, love, I wanna make you feel perfect—” And she moved her fingers just so—

“Yes,” Lorenz gasped, reached down and held her wrist. “There, right there, don’t move, I, I’m so—” He held her just where he wanted her, ground on her fingers while she whispered how good he was, how sweet and hot and loved, and he came loudly and with gusto. “ _Ohhh_ , oh, okay, um, y-your, um, penis now, please,” he panted, still shaking, and she made an _in love_ sound, kissed him hard. Well, that was okay too. He let her kiss him and kiss him, and when he thought he might actually die if she didn’t get inside him, he broke the kiss and panted, “Now, come on, I don’t want to wait, I’ve waited so long—”

“Yeah, yeah, Lor, whatever you want,” Leonie promised, kissing his neck. “How do you want me? Like this, or—” _Or,_ what a wonderful question. Lorenz hadn’t thought about it, but— he sat up, frantically piled pillows against the headboard. 

“Switch places with me,” he demanded. She did, sitting against the clumsily piled pillows, and looked up at him, and—

“Do you need lube?” she asked as he straddled her. Lorenz scoffed, and she set her hands on his hips companionably. “Some omegas do, nothing wrong with that,” she said mildly, and she was so— _Leonie_ that he couldn’t do anything except kiss her—

And then finally, _finally_ he was in her lap, sinking onto her cock, chanting _yes, yes, yes,_ eyes open but unseeing, staring at the ceiling because it was already so much and there was no way he could look directly at her. Her cock filled him, and her hands were on his back, and she was groaning love and encouragement at him, and he finally looked at her, and her eyes were hot and intent and steady.

And then, afterwards, he tucked himself up small and she curled around him, and he was good at, at pleasing himself, but _that_ was better than anything he could do on his own. He fell into a deep and comfortable slumber and was awakened by a vigorous knocking on the door.

“Lorenz! Wake up, we have a war to fight!” Claude called through the door. Lorenz groaned, snuggled more firmly into Leonie’s arms. “Lorenz! Wake up, and if Leonie is there, you better wake her up too!”

“Shut up,” Leonie called back, just as loudly. Lorenz grumbled, but softly. If she was awake, and he was awake, and they were naked, then they might as well—“Fifteen minutes!”

“Five,” Claude called back.

“Ten.”

“Fine. Dining hall, ten minutes.” There was a pause. “Oh, and congrats, you idiots. You better show up wearing your own clothes and ready to fight.” 

“Oh, I’m ready to fight,” Leonie grumbled without heat. Lorenz made an approving noise, kissed the base of her neck. Their scents had mixed, and she smelled _divine._ “We should actually get up,” she said reluctantly.

“Oh, is there something we were supposed to do today?” Lorenz asked as archly as he could manage, given the circumstance. Leonie huffed, the noise so affectionate it squeezed his heart, and kissed the top of his head.

“Didn’t you hear, we have a war to win.” Yes, and then they could spend as much time in bed as they desired. Excellent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THREE fic recs this time :O  
> FIRST! [Shining in No Time](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27731428) by oneletterdiff  
> Summary: _When Lorenz first began to notice Leonie, he did his best to squash the budding interest. She was an alpha, strike one; she was a commoner, strike two; worst of all, she would try to give him orders, strike three. If he hadn’t been so well-trained to always be polite in the face of adversary, Lorenz would have taken her bossiness as a challenge. Lesser alphas might start a fight over the matter. But Lorenz prided himself on his impeccable manners. / Still, Leonie had managed to get under his skin. It irked Lorenz to no end. Sometimes it made him so angry that he would lie awake at night thinking about her._  
>  ABO! Leonie and Lorenz! Alpha/Alpha! Slap slap kiss! And there is art!!
> 
> You might also enjoy [Hidden Talents](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24293383) by dango96. Summary: _Leonie and Felix are mercenaries, but being a mercenary doesn't always pay the bills. So they dip into their pool of other talents, and wind up working at a brothel. / Their first customer is one very embarrassed Lorenz Hellman Gloucester._ Threesome! Pegging! Sex work! Good times.
> 
> And finally, [Carefully Balanced Floral Notes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25213228/chapters/61112665) by whaleandjanuary. _Step 1: Go in against a Gautier when your poetry is on the line. Step 2: Turn your back on the Fraldarius heir Step 3: [redacted] Step 4: Profit??? / Felix and Lorenz get sex pollened._


	4. Ever After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorenz stopped drinking the moon tea, and his second full heat followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you write the chapter and you know what's going to be in it. Sometimes it spontaneously manifests something you weren't planning. In this chapter: some light virginity kink and blink-and-you'll miss it impregnation kink. Enjoy!

They won the war, and Lorenz took Leonie home and introduced her as his future bride. His father did not seem terribly impressed, but his mother clapped her hands together and declared that anyone who could make her son smile like _that_ had to be a keeper. Lorenz was content to let things work themselves out as they may. He smiled at Leonie, and she smiled back, and _oh,_ she was so dear. He couldn’t help it; he tugged her close, kissed her cheek, pressed their noses together—and was rewarded with her blush. She was shyer about public gestures of affection than he’d expected, which itself was so delightful that he could hardly contain himself.

So his mother took up Leonie’s cause, and his father came around under her influence, Lorenz’s influence, and also Leonie’s considerable influence. 

Lorenz’s heat came due (mini-heat, he didn’t want to scandalize his family too badly by having a child out of the bonds of matrimony) and Leonie prevailed upon him to spend it _not_ in his family’s ancestral home (something about privacy, and he supposed she had a point). They retired to a small country cottage maintained by his family, and she, ah, fucked him into a happy puddle.

Their wedding day finally came. Their attire was entirely of Lorenz’s choosing, which is to say it was perfect. They danced, and there was cake, and Lorenz’s father and mother held hands tightly. His mother cried and his father dabbed his eyes in a restrained and dignified manner. Claude and Byleth attended, and each gave a deeply embarrassing and equally moving toast. All their companions from school who could make it, did. Lorenz danced with his new wife in the great hall of his family’s home.

Lorenz stopped drinking the moon tea, and his second full heat followed. He was nearly giddy with anticipation, which Leonie seemed surprised by but _honestly._

In deference to Leonie’s surprisingly shy sensibilities, Lorenz once again arranged for them to visit the country cottage. In deference to his own, oh, call it a whimsy, he arranged for, well.

“I can’t believe your old Academy uniform still fits,” Leonie said, staring wide-eyed at him. Lorenz smiled.

“I had to have it altered,” he corrected. Leonie was still staring at him, so he turned in place to let her see the whole effect. “How do I look?”

“You look great,” Leonie said, and the softness of her tone made him feel warm. “I’d forgotten how buttoned-up you were.”

“Would you be interested in, ah…?” He produced a pile of black and white fabric and presented it to her. He’d expected his own reveal to be the point at which embarrassment occurred, but no, apparently that was now. Goddess his face must be red. Leonie took the fabric from him and kissed his cheek.

“Of course you had one made for me. I bet it fits perfectly too. Give me a minute.” Lorenz perched on the edge of the bed, fidgeting slightly, until Leonie returned. She—oh, it did fit perfectly. Lorenz was surprised by the wave of heat that rolled through him at seeing her like—like this. He hadn’t appreciated at the time how cute she’d been in the uniform. The cut of the skirt, the rolled up sleeves, the open collar—they added to her energetic air. Leonie touched her hair self-consciously, plucked at the jacket tied around her waist. “Well?”

“I love you,” Lorenz blurted. She grinned then, and Lorenz had to hide his face because of how—charming she looked. She drew close, tugged his hands down, kissed his mouth. Well that wasn’t so bad.

“Love you too.” 

Lorenz didn’t have a plan for this in-between part, before his heat started in earnest. When Leonie suggested that she might prepare a little food to pass the time, he followed her to the small kitchen. Somehow even just watching her do ordinary things while they were dressed up like this made Lorenz feel helplessly fond. 

Leonie brought him an apple cut into slices. It was unnecessary but sweet of her to chop it up for him, just as it was to hold one of the slices for him to eat. Lorenz took the fruit out of her hand, savored the sweetness and the crunch. When he was done, she kissed the tip of his nose. Oh, just lovely. He caught her before she could flit off and tugged her in for a longer kiss.

He waited in a pleasant haze while she washed and chopped more fruit, then produced some cheese and sausage and sliced that as well. The heat he remembered had come on swiftly and mercilessly, but this was like a tide rising, gradual but implacable. He felt warm all over and was very aware of all the places his skin was covered or bared by the uniform, of the life of his own body. Leonie sat across from him and snacked on the food she’d prepared, and when he leaned forward and opened his mouth, she grinned and held a piece up for him. Ah, to be indulged. Her soft-warm-safe scent permeated the whole cottage, made it cozy and homey. 

She hand-fed him the lion’s share of the food, and he was flushed and distracted by the time it was gone. He leaned forward and sucked her fingertips, chasing the taste of the fruit and then the clean warmth of her skin. She regarded him with heavy-lidded eyes, and he shivered pleasantly.

“Bed?” she asked, setting her fingers under his chin. He pressed his legs together, enjoyed the pleasant feeling that went through him.

“Not yet,” he said. Her brows twitched up, but she waited in silent question. “Couch. Reading?”

“You’ve got a whole plan you’re not telling me, don’t you?” she asked, rising to put her arm around his waist as they went into the next room.

“Nothing so elaborate,” Lorenz murmured. Her beta scent had the subtle note that marked her arousal, and it made him almost lightheaded with desire. In the next room, he nudged her onto the couch and pressed a book into her hand. She looked at him curiously as he curled up next to her and tucked himself somewhat awkwardly under his arm. “Read to me,” he said.

“Definitely has a plan,” Leonie muttered to herself, but opened the book at random and began to read. Lorenz lost himself in the sound of her voice and the warmth of her body, and his heat made him wetter and wetter. He started off lying next to her with his head pillowed on her lap but ended up, without realizing it, migrating until more and more of himself was pressed against her. It was just that—she was soft and warm, and it felt good to be close to her. By the time she paused to ask how he was, he was almost fully in her lap with his arms looped around her neck. The scent of her arousal was stronger now. “Still don’t want to move this to the bed?” Leonie asked breathlessly as he traced his fingers along one of the seams of her blouse. He kissed the skin that the open collar of her shirt left exposed.

“I’m happy where I am,” he said. His own arousal was starting to crackle under his skin each time he moved.

“I bet you are.” She laid a warm hand on the back of his neck and went back to reading aloud. The words washed over Lorenz, and he imagined that they were students again, in some unregarded corner of the library, and he was coming into his first heat. They wouldn’t have fought in a war, wouldn’t know each other’s bodies yet. Instead of distressed and embarrassed, maybe he could have been comfortable and excited for this new thing. Maybe he’d have already been thinking of his classmate like that, or maybe it would just be dawning on him; he didn’t know. He did, in the here and now, lean up to kiss Leonie mid-word. “Mm,” she said when he pulled back to let her breathe. She tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “Something for you, Lor?”

“Kiss me,” he said breathlessly, and she did. He didn’t know what had happened to his book, but her arms were around him and her body was warm, and he was terribly, wonderfully slick. Goddess, he wondered if it had soaked through his uniform yet. He was straddling her lap, their bodies not quite touching as he held himself aloft. He kissed the side of her neck, nipped under her ear. Her beta scent was beguiling, and the layers of his uniform made each touch of her hands a delightful tease.

She was gentle with him, almost shy. Lorenz, as she knew, liked a bit of rough handling but today each touch was light and slow and careful. Lorenz might have pressed for more, but it did feed into the fantasy that this was all new and unfamiliar. He kissed her hungrily, enjoyed the way each soft touch made him shiver, made him want. He sank onto her lap, was aware of how easy it would be to push her skirt up but left it where it lay. The feel of her hard cock through the layers of their clothing drew a sharp sound from him. By the time Leonie was rocking up against him while making low, hungry noises in the back of her throat, Lorenz was well and truly wound up.

“Lorenz, sweetheart, what’s the plan? What do you want?” she panted. She’d opened the neck of his jacket and was nipping lightly at the skin there.

“Oh, oh, you know,” Lorenz managed. Leonie pulled back enough to give him a look. He blinked coquettishly at her. “…Wouldn’t you like to be inside me?” he asked. She grinned wolfishly for a second before schooling her expression into one rather more innocent than he’d ever seen her wear. 

“Is it okay, Lorenz? I’ll be gentle,” she said, and he had to fight down a smile of his own.

“I love you,” he said. She tugged him closer, kissed the hollow of his neck. Oh, that was quite nice. He squirmed happily in her lap, eliciting a low groan. That was quite nice as well.

They shifted so that Lorenz could lie back against the arm rest with Leonie between his legs. Lorenz was surprised by the way pleasure jolted through him when Leonie got his shirt open and began kissing her way down his chest and stomach. It wasn’t that he was sensitive there, exactly, but between the half-formed fantasy he was indulging and the haze of his heat, each touch of her lips drew a breathless noise from his throat. By the time she finally reached his waistband, he was whining and rocking his hips.

“I love you,” she whispered. He made a wordless noise and tangled their fingers together. She kissed his fingertips, his knuckles, then took her hand back to ease his pants down. He stopped her before she could get them past his knees, gave her a heated look and lifted his legs to expose his dripping hole. It was strange—he felt both exposed and like he was hiding behind his knees. Leonie’s hands were warm when she set them on his ankles and parted his legs. He was panting in anticipation. 

The blunt pressure of her cock as she pressed into him made his back arch. He was so slick, and it felt so good—she eased into him and held still, as they preferred, but Lorenz was molten with need, burning up, and he made a needy, demanding noise. 

Apparently, that was easy enough to interpret. Leonie rocked her hips, tentatively establishing a rhythm, and Lorenz let out a high, sharp gasp and came.

“Oh, sweetheart,” she murmured, voice rumbling in her chest, and Lorenz set his hands on either side of her face, tugged her in for a frantic kiss. It—it was probably hard on her neck, but Lorenz was more preoccupied with how it changed the angle of her inside him— Goddess, _oh_ — 

She kissed him fiercely, fucked him hard, and Lorenz lost himself in the feel of their bodies and the impossible closeness of her. 

When her pace faltered, he whined a question into her skin. 

“Sorry, love, I’m getting close,” she panted, slowing still further. He groaned, tugged at her arm to indicate that he _did not care._ “Sweetheart, is it okay? Can I?” He nodded frantically, was too caught in the swirling tide to say that _yes, it was okay, that was the_ point, _he wanted her to finish in him, wanted an heir, their child—_ But she was still slowing, the villain, and—

“If you stop,” he managed, with tremendous effort, sounding thoroughly dazed, “I will scream.” He was rewarded with a bright smile, there and gone, and a kiss on the cheek.

“Well don’t do that,” she said, voice hopelessly fond, and leaned hard on him as she fucked him fast and deep.

A sound— _not_ a scream, but an attenuated moan—escaped Lorenz’s throat, seeming to take on a life of its own. Oh, she felt perfect. The sound caught, paused, as he came—and again—and dropped and reached a throatier pitch as Leonie’s movements turned deeper and slower, almost grinding against him as she came. Small noises, almost sleepy, continued to push their way out of his throat as she rested their faces together, her breath warm on his skin. After a moment, she began moving again, this time rubbing her nose against his cheek, kissing his nose and his jaw and each eyelid. He made another sleepy noise. Silly woman. When she started peppering his face with kisses, he forced his eyelids open. 

“Love you,” she said, “My Lor, best friend.” He smiled, and his hand slowly drifted up until he could comb clumsy fingers through her hair. 

“Love you,” he said.

“Am I squishing you? Should I move?” she asked. Leonie, as Lorenz knew, was very nearly tireless, even in such intimate circumstances.

“Stay,” he commanded. She still looked fretful, however, so he graciously allowed her to manhandle him into what was, admittedly, a more comfortable resting position. He was still on his back, but she managed to insinuate herself between him and the back of the couch and was half-curled around him. This had the additional benefit of putting her thoroughly within cuddling distance. He shifted until he could rest his face in the crook of her neck. Her soft-warm-safe scent was strong there, and he dozed lightly for a time. When he drifted back to full wakefulness, he was aware of her fingers in his hair. “...What happened to my book?” She laughed softly.

“Right here, Lor,” she said. She shifted, and then a familiar cover was indeed invading the corner of his vision. “Not so much as a page bent, I promise.” 

“I trust you,” he said, and she made a _‘I know you’re going to look for bent pages as soon as I leave the room’_ face. “I do.” She kissed his nose rather than correct him.

“Are you okay?” she asked. 

“I’m fine,” he said honestly. He contrived to wiggle closer to her. “You should probably drink some water, though.” 

“ _You_ should drink water.”

“Ah, excellent idea. Please bring me some water,” he said and blinked winsomely at her. She scoffed but did as he asked, pausing only to kiss him before she wandered out of the room. He watched her go, appreciating the aesthetics of her now-rumpled uniform. Mm. 

She returned bearing not only water, but chopped fruit. He allowed her to help him up into a sitting position and, once he had finished the water, let her hand-feed him the fruit as well. On the one hand, he was hardly an invalid. On the other, he couldn’t deny that there was a part of him—not even a small part—that was enjoying being fussed over. It was his first—proper—heat, he reasoned, and why shouldn’t he be indulged ridiculously. Leonie was gazing at him with a soft expression on her face.

“Something for you?” he asked, setting a hand on her cheek. She shook her head. “You should eat too.” She would, not to be indelicate, be needing the energy soon enough. She cupped her hand over his own and laid a kiss on his palm.

“Not yet. I’ll wait,” she said. He picked up a piece of fruit and held it before her mouth. 

“You may, but you don’t have to. Why not indulge now?”

Slowly, she smiled. She took the fruit from his fingers, then leaned forward and kissed him softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :)  
> If you would like more Leonie/Lorenz content, ~~boy are you in the right place~~ please allow me to suggest some of my own works!  
> 1\. The fic that got me into this ship in the first place, [pull it together (get to the good parts)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25984840), which features pre-TS Leonie and Lorenz and sexy hair pulling, a fanart, AND two sequel-thingies that involve (spoilersbutnotreally) developing feelings and a surprising about of ~~tea~~ ~~prom~~ Leicester Alliance shenanigans.  
> 2\. If you would like more Lorenz/Leonie a/b/o smut, there is [a terrible idea (let's do it again sometime](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26883151) feat. pre-TS o!Lorenz/a!Leonie  
> 3\. [the tentacle plant thing](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27381187) Lorenz and Leonie are women in this one! _Lorenz rescues Leonie from a tentacle plant that is attacking her! Leonie is annoyed that her fun has been interrupted. Romance ensues?_ Feat. a tentacle plant (yeppers), consentacles, and arguing over what constellations should be called  
> and, if you're good on smut, there's always [twitterpated](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26673637) a modern college birding AU. _Without realizing what was happening, and mildly against her will, Leonie had ended up becoming the Vice President and Co-founder of the UF Leicester Chill-Ass Bird Watching and Nature Appreciation Club._  
>  \--  
> Thanks again for reading! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are a delight!


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